Device screen protector article

ABSTRACT

An article for protecting a display screen of an electronic device with a display surface. The article may comprise a substrate configured to cover the screen of the device during us of the device, at least a portion of the substrate being substantially transparent to permit viewing of the display surface through the substrate. The substrate may have a perimeter, an outer surface for facing outwardly from the display surface when the substrate is applied to the display surface, and an inner surface for facing toward the display surface when the substrate is applied to the display surface. The article may comprise at least one marking on the substrate.

BACKGROUND Field

The present disclosure relates to screen protectors and moreparticularly pertains to a new device screen protector article fornon-permanently displaying markings on the screen of an electronicdevice.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, the present disclosure relates to an article forprotecting a display screen of an electronic device, with the displayscreen having a display surface. The article may comprise a substrateconfigured to cover the screen of the device during us of the device,and at least a portion of the substrate may be substantially transparentto permit viewing of the display surface through the substrate. Thesubstrate may have a perimeter, an outer surface for facing outwardlyfrom the display surface when the substrate is applied to the displaysurface, and an inner surface for facing toward the display surface whenthe substrate is applied to the display surface. The article may alsoinclude at least one marking on the substrate.

In another aspect of the disclosure, an electronic device system maycomprise an electronic device having a display screen with a displaysurface. The display screen may have a display zone capable ofdisplaying a changeable image and a non-display zone incapable ofdisplaying a non-changeable image, with the display zone of the displaysurface being illuminable by a source of illumination of the displayscreen. The system may also include an article for protecting thedisplay screen that may comprise a substrate removably applied to thedisplay screen of the device during use of the device, with at least aportion of the substrate being substantially transparent to permitviewing of the display surface through the substrate. The substrate hasa perimeter, an outer surface for facing outwardly from the displaysurface when the substrate is applied to the display surface, and aninner surface for facing toward the display surface when the substrateis applied to the display surface. The substrate has a display regioncovering the display zone of the display screen and a non-display regioncovering the non-display zone of the display screen. The article mayalso include at least one marking on the substrate.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, some of the more importantelements of the disclosure in order that the detailed descriptionthereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that thepresent contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There areadditional elements of the disclosure that will be described hereinafterand which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment orimplementation in greater detail, it is to be understood that the scopeof the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the drawings. The disclosure iscapable of other embodiments and implementations and is thus capable ofbeing practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to beunderstood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are forthe purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception,upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carryingout the several purposes of the present disclosure. It is important,therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalentconstructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope ofthe present disclosure.

The advantages of the various embodiments of the present disclosure,along with the various features of novelty that characterize thedisclosure, are disclosed in the following descriptive matter andaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be better understood and when consideration is givento the drawings and the detailed description which follows. Suchdescription makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a new device screenprotector article and an illustrative device on which the article may beemployed, according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded side view of the article and anillustrative device, according to an illustrative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2thereof, a new device screen protector article embodying the principlesand concepts of the disclosed subject matter will be described.

Applicant has recognized that overlays include those that are applied toan outer surface of a device, which may include the display screen ofthe device, and have been employed to protect the device from scratchingand marring during and after the manufacturing process as well as duringtransport prior to the ultimate utilization by the consumer who removesthe overlays in order to use the device. Also, overlays have beenutilized on display screens of devices that include indicia thatsimulate the characters and icons that are typically displayed oncepower has been supplied to the device and it is operational, in order toprovide a potential purchaser with an appearance that simulates theappearance of the display when the device is in an operational state.None of these overlays is intended to be left on the display surface ofthe display screen when the device is being used, and normally theseoverlays are removed prior to the initial use of the device by the userand discarded.

Applicant has also recognized that conventional screen protectionoverlays are formed of a clear material so that the overlay does notobscure the matter displayed on the display screen in any way. Someprotection overlays may include a polarized filter to block off-angleviewing of the display screen in order to enhance the privacy of use ofthe device, and/or increase the readability of the display screen in abright environment such as sunlight.

Applicant has devised a screen protector article to be used on thedisplay screen of a device while the device is being operated, butprovides additional visual enhancement markings to the display in anon-permanent or temporary manner that may be visible during use of thedevice, or may be configured so that illumination of the display screencauses the markings to become virtually invisible. The screen protectorarticle may also include markings that are located in zones of thedisplay screen that are not capable of displaying output from thedisplay screen, but simply form a peripheral area of the display screenthat is not illuminated by the screen. Such areas may be utilizedthrough the markings for displaying information, logos, decorativematter, and virtually anything else that may be desired.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to an article 10 for protecting adisplay screen 2 of an electronic device 1, such as a device used forcommunication (e.g., a cellular phone), computing (e.g., a tabletcomputer) or for other purposes such as entertainment (e.g., a musicplayer, a device for executing software apps, and video game playingdevices), as well as other devices that have a display screen. In manyif not most implementations, the article is most useful for protecting adisplay screen that is subject to repeated contact by the user using afinger or a stylus (or other device) to provide input to the device.Such display screens are often referred to as “touch screens.”

The display screen 2 may have a display surface 3 which is often formedby a transparent material, such as glass or other suitable material. Thedisplay screen may have a display zone 4 that is capable of displaying achangeable image corresponding to output by the device. The display zonetypically occupies a majority of the display screen, and may in somecases occupy the entire display screen surface. However, as the displaysurface 3 of the display screen often covers a large portion of thefront of a device, the display screen may also have a non-display zone 5that includes portions of the device that are not able to activelypresent a changeable image. The border between the zones 4, 5 isillustratively shown as broken lines in FIG. 1, although the borderusually may not be visible except when the display is fully illuminated.Typically, the display zone 4 of the display surface may be illuminatedby an illumination source of the display screen (and the non-displayzone or zones are typically not illuminated by the illumination source).The display screen 2 may have a periphery 6, and the device 1 may have aframe 7 that extends about or along the periphery of the display screen.

The article 10 may comprise a substrate 12 that is configured to coverat least a portion of the display surface of the display screen, andtypically will cover substantially the entire display surface to protectthe display surface from direct contact with items used for touch input,or just environmental objects that would otherwise would come intocontact with the display surface and may leave scratches, smudges, orother debris. The substrate 12 may be substantially transparent topermit images displayed on the display surface to be visuallytransmitted through the substrate. The substrate may be clear, but couldalso be tinted. The substrate 12 may have a size and shape configured tocover substantially an entirety of the display surface, which may beaccomplished by an article that is precut to fit the display screen of aparticular device 1 or may be cut to size and shape by the consumer ofthe article. The substrate may be formed of a suitable material thatprovides the characteristics described herein, and may also have someflexibility although this is not critical. As one illustrative example,the substrate may be formed from a film which is urethane-based and maybe 0.008 inches thick.

The substrate 12 may have a display region 14 that is configured tocover the display zone 4 of the screen 2 when the substrate is appliedto the display surface 3. The substrate may also include a non-displayregion 16 that is configured to cover the non-display zone 5 of thescreen when the substrate is applied to the display surface. The borderbetween the regions 14, 16 is illustratively shown as broken lines inFIG. 1, although the border between the regions may not be visible tothe user. The substrate 12 has a perimeter 18 which may be sized andshaped to generally correspond to the periphery 6 of the display screen.The perimeter being sized and shaped to meet the frame 7 about thedisplay screen and may substantially abut against the frame about thedisplay screen, although this is not critical. The substrate 12 may havean outer surface 20 that faces outwardly from the display surface whenthe substrate is applied to the display surface, and an inner surface 22that faces toward the display surface when the substrate is applied tothe display surface.

The article includes a marking 24, and may be provided on the substrate12. The marking 24 may be located on the inner surface 22 of thesubstrate, but may also be located on the outer surface of the substrate(although such location may be vulnerable to transfer of the marking toother surfaces as well as being vulnerable to damage to the marking).The marking 24 may be located in the non-display region 16 of thesubstrate, and may be located in the display region 14 of the substrate.The marking 24 may be located on a marked area 26 of the substrate, andmay include a plurality of marked areas of the substrate. The markedareas 26 may be located on the display 14 and non-display 16 regions ofthe substrate, and the marked areas may be located on both the inner 22and outer 20 surfaces of the substrate.

In some implementations of the disclosure, some or all of the markings24 may be of a character that is opaque to visible light transmitted bythe illumination source of the display screen, and may thereby block thetransmission of the visible light from the display surface in the markedarea or areas such as in any direction or angle of viewing with respectto the display surface. In some implementations, some or all of themarkings 24 may be of a character that permits partial transmission ofvisible light from the display surface through the marked area, and themarking may be partially transparent. The marking 24 may be of acharacter that blocks vision through the marked area to the displaysurface when the display surface is not illuminated by the source ofillumination of the display screen and allows the passage of visiblelight through the marking from the source of illumination behind thedisplay surface. One skilled in the art will recognize varioustechniques for producing a marked area with partial transmissibility,including, for example, by increasing or decreasing the density of thesubstance applied or surface treatment used to form the marking on themarked area.

The marking 24 may be formed on the substrate in any suitable manner orby any suitable process. In some of the most preferred implementations,the marking 24 is formed by an additive process, such as by printing onthe substrate using a substance that dries on the surface (such as, forexample, an ink) or fusing a substance to the substrate (such as, forexample, a toner). Other suitable substances may be employed to form themarkings using an additive approach. Other processes may be used to formthe marking in the marked area, such by a subtractive process includingetching the surface of the substrate. Markings may be formed byprocesses that do not involve substantially adding to or subtractingfrom the substrate, but include some manipulation of the substrate, suchas by embossing raised or recessed areas into the substrate. The marking24 may be of various colors, and may be reflective of visible light.

The substrate may be securable to the display surface of the displayscreen in any suitable manner. One means to hold the substrate to thesurface may be static cling or static stick, a technique that is knownto those skilled in the art of screen protectors, and provides easyremoval and repositioning of the screen protector for a period of time.A suitable but somewhat less preferred manner of securing the substrate12 to the display surface is through the use of a layer of adheringsubstance applied to at least a portion of the inner surface 22 of thesubstrate, and the layer may be continuous between the perimeter 18 ofthe substrate. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the adhesivemay be applied over the marked area on the substrate. Preferably, theadhering substance produces a low level of adhesion between thesubstrate and the surface 3 so that peeling removal of the substratefrom the display surface using finger-applied pulling force is possible.

It should be appreciated that in the foregoing description and appendedclaims, that the terms “substantially” and “approximately,” when used tomodify another term, mean “for the most part” or “being largely but notwholly or completely that which is specified” by the modified term.

It should also be appreciated from the foregoing description that,except when mutually exclusive, the features of the various embodimentsdescribed herein may be combined with features of other embodiments asdesired while remaining within the intended scope of the disclosure.

Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the steps shownin the drawing figures may be altered in a variety of ways. For example,the order of the steps may be rearranged, substeps may be performed inparallel, shown steps may be omitted, or other steps may be included,etc.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized thatthe optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the disclosedembodiments and implementations, to include variations in size,materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly anduse, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the artin light of the foregoing disclosure, and all equivalent relationshipsto those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specificationare intended to be encompassed by the present disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the disclosed subject matter to the exact constructionand operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitablemodifications and equivalents may be resorted to that fall within thescope of the claims.

I claim:
 1. An article for protecting a display screen of an electronicdevice, the display screen having a display surface, the articlecomprising: a substrate configured to cover the screen of the deviceduring use of the device, at least a portion of the substrate beingsubstantially transparent to permit viewing of the display surfacethrough the substrate, the substrate having a perimeter, an outersurface for facing outwardly from the display surface when the substrateis applied to the display surface, and an inner surface for facingtoward the display surface when the substrate is applied to the displaysurface; at least one marking on the substrate such that application ofthe substrate to the display screen displays the at least one marking onthe display screen of the device; wherein the substrate is configured tobe removably adhered to the display screen of the device to permitpeeling removal of the substrate from the screen and thereby remove theat least one marking from display on the display screen and wherein theat least one marking is positioned on the inner surface of the substrateapplied with an adhering substance such that the marking is removablypositioned between the substrate and the display surface and blocks aportion of a changeable image displayed on the display surface when thesubstrate is adhered to the display screen.
 2. The article of claim 1wherein the substrate has a size and shape configured to coversubstantially an entirety of the display surface.
 3. The article ofclaim 1 wherein the display screen of the device has a display zonecapable of displaying a changeable image and the display screen of thedevice has a non-display zone incapable of displaying a changeableimage; and wherein the substrate has a display region configured tocover the display zone of the screen when the substrate is applied tothe screen and a non-display region configured to cover the non-displayzone of the screen when the substrate is applied to the screen, the atleast one marking being located in the display region such thatvisibility of the changeable image displayed on a portion of the displayzone is blocked by the at least one marking.
 4. The article of claim 1wherein the display screen of the device has a display zone capable ofdisplaying a changeable image and the display screen of the device has anon-display zone incapable of displaying a changeable image; and whereinthe substrate has a display region configured to cover the display zoneof the screen when the substrate is applied to the screen and anon-display region configured to cover the non-display zone of thescreen when the substrate is applied to the screen, the at least onemarking being located in the non-display region; wherein one said atleast one marking is located in the display region such that said atleast one marking is visible in the display zone of the display screenwhen the substrate is applied to the display screen; and wherein onesaid at least one marking is located in the non-display region such thatsaid at least one marking is visible in the non-display zone of thedisplay screen when the substrate is applied to the display screen. 5.The article of claim 1 wherein the at least one marking is of acharacter that is opaque to visible light transmitted from the displayscreen.
 6. The article of claim 1 wherein the at least one markingoccupies a marked area on the substrate; and wherein the at least onemarking is of a character that permits partial transmission of visiblelight from the display surface through a portion of the marked area. 7.The article of claim 1 wherein the at least one marking is formed byprinting on one of the surfaces of the substrate.
 8. The article ofclaim 1 wherein the at least one marking is formed by etching one of thesurfaces of the substrate.
 9. The article of claim 1 wherein the markingis formed by embossing one of the surfaces of the substrate.
 10. Anelectronic device system comprising: an electronic device having adisplay screen with a display surface, the display screen having adisplay zone capable of displaying a changeable image and the displayscreen of the device having a non-display zone incapable of displaying achangeable image, the display zone being illuminable by a source ofillumination of the display screen; and an article for protecting thedisplay screen, the article comprising: a substrate removably applied tothe display screen of the device during use of the device, at least aportion of the substrate being substantially transparent to permitviewing of the display surface through the substrate, the substratehaving a perimeter, an outer surface for facing outwardly from thedisplay surface when the substrate is applied to the display surface,and an inner surface for facing toward the display surface when thesubstrate is applied to the display surface, the substrate having adisplay region covering the display zone of the display screen and anon-display region covering the non-display zone of the display screen;and at least one marking on the substrate such that the display screendisplays the at least one marking on the display screen of the device;wherein the substrate is configured to be removable from the displayscreen to permit peeling removal of the substrate from the screen andthereby remove the at least one marking from display on the displayscreen; and wherein the at least one marking is positioned on the innersurface of the substrate applied with an adhering substance such thatthe marking is removably positioned between the substrate and thedisplay surface and blocks a portion of a changeable image displayed onthe display surface when the substrate is adhered to the display screen.11. The system of claim 10 wherein the substrate has a size and shapeconfigured to cover substantially an entirety of the display surface.12. The system of claim 10 wherein the at least one marking is locatedin the display region such that visibility of a changeable imagedisplayed on a portion of the display zone is blocked by the at leastone marking.
 13. The system of claim 10 wherein a said marking islocated in the non-display region such that said marking is visible inthe non-display zone of the display screen; and wherein a said markingis located in the display region such that said marking is visible inthe display zone of the display screen.
 14. The system of claim 10wherein the at least one marking is of a character that is opaque tovisible light transmitted from the display screen.
 15. The system ofclaim 10 wherein the at least one marking is formed by printing on oneof the surfaces of the substrate.
 16. The system of claim 10 wherein thesubstrate has a size and shape configured to cover substantially anentirety of the display surface; wherein at least one said marking islocated in the display region such that visibility of the changeableimage displayed on a portion of the display zone is blocked by the atleast one marking; wherein at least one said marking is located in thenon-display region such that said marking is visible in the non-displayzone of the display screen; wherein the at least one said marking in thedisplay region is of a character that is opaque to visible lighttransmitted from the display screen; and wherein the at least onemarking is formed by printing on one of the surface of the substrate.17. The article of claim 1 wherein the display screen of the device hasa display zone capable of displaying a changeable image and the displayscreen of the device has a non-display zone incapable of displaying achangeable image; wherein the substrate has a display region configuredto cover the display zone of the screen when the substrate is applied tothe screen and a non-display region configured to cover the non-displayzone of the screen when the substrate is applied to the screen, at leastone said marking being located in the display region and the at leastone said marking being located in the non-display region; wherein the atleast one marking occupies a marked area on the substrate and whereinthe at least one marking is of a character that permits partialtransmission of visible light from the display surface through a portionof the marked area; and wherein the at least one marking is formed byprinting on one of the surface of the substrate.
 18. A method of addingremovable decorative matter to an electronic device comprising:providing an electronic device having a display screen with a displaysurface, the display screen having a display zone capable of displayinga changeable image and a non-display zone incapable of displaying achangeable image, the display zone being illuminable by a source ofillumination of the display screen; obtaining an article including asubstrate with at least a portion of the substrate being substantiallytransparent, the substrate having a display region and a non-displayregion, the article further including at least one marking on thesubstrate located in the display region, the at least one marking beingpositioned on an inner surface of the substrate; applying the substrateto the display surface of the display screen such that the displayregion of the substrate is positioned over the display zone of thedisplay screen and the non-display region of the substrate is positionedover the non-display zone of the display screen and such that the atleast one marking is positioned over the display zone of the displayscreen, the inner surface of the substrate applied with an adheringsubstance being positioned against the display surface such that the atleast one marking is removably positioned between the substrate and thedisplay surface and blocks a portion of a changeable image displayed onthe display surface; and removing the substrate from the display screenby peeling the substrate from the display surface such that the at leastone marking on the inner surface of the substrate is removed from aposition over the display zone of the display screen.